Jakarta, July 19 - James Bowen of the United States cemented his lead atop the leaderboard when he carded a third round two-under-par 70 to extend his advantage to three at the inaugural Jakarta Classic on Friday.
Bowen, who held the overnight lead, compiled a three-day total of 10-under-par 206 to enjoy a three-shot cushion over Australian Darren Tan and Arie Fauzi of Malaysia as he heads into the final round at the Imperial Klub Golf.
Tan and Arie, who recently turned professional in April, signed for matching 209s to take a share of second place while Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang, who was leading after the first day, carded a 70 to take fourth place.
England’s Grant Jackson slipped three places from second to fifth when he returned with a 73 at the US$60,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
George Gandranata, who is currently the highest placed Indonesian on the ADT Order of Merit, is looking to solidify this position after climbing 15 places to 7th place with a round of 68. One shot further back is Rory Hie who put in a solid 71. Four more Indonesians are in the top 25, with Maan Nasim (70), Benny Kasiadi (74) and Andik Mauludin (74) in a share of 16th and Ade Sebul (74) in a share of 24th place.
Bowen, who is currently second on the ADT Order of Merit, was delighted with his commanding performance which he described as a huge confidence booster.
“I’m glad I gave myself a lot of chances today. I didn’t make any mistakes today and I had a bogey-free round which was a huge confidence boost for me,” said Bowen.
“I hope I can enjoy a solid round again tomorrow. I will try and stick to my original game plan and we will see what happens,” added the 27-year-old.
Having claimed his maiden ADT breakthrough earlier this year, the American remains on course to seal his second title and potentially a spot on the region’s premier Tour at the end of the season.
The top three players to finish on the ADT Order of Merit will earn their Asian Tour cards for 2014.
Meanwhile Tan credited his recent good form for giving him the honor of recording the day’s lowest score of 67.
“I think I’ve just had my best ball-striking round today. I played my wedge shots well too. I’m really happy with my game. Hopefully, I can hole more putts tomorrow,” said Darren, who marked his blemish-free card with five birdies.
Tan once hogged the spotlight on the Asian Tour when he won a Kia Optima K5 after carding a hole-in-one during the second round of ISPS Handa Singapore Classic in 2012.
Starting this season, all ADT events will receive Official World Golf Ranking points which will help players qualify for the World Cup of Golf in November and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Winners on the ADT will receive a minimum of six world ranking points while the top six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.
Leading third round scores (A denotes amateur):
206 – James BOWEN (USA) 70 66 70
209 – Darren TAN (AUS) 73 69 67, Arie FAUZI (MAS) 68 73 68
210 – CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 67 73 70
211 – Grant JACKSON (ENG) 73 65 73
212 – Shuan MALONE (ENG) 69 72 71
213 – George GANDRANATA (INA) 73 72 68, Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN) 71 70 72, Jake STIRLING (AUS) 70 71 72
Selected:
214 - Rory HIE (INA) 76 67 71
216 - Maan NASIM (INA) 74 72 70, Benny KASIADI (INA) 71 71 74, Andik MAULUDIN (INA) 70 72 74
218 - Ade SEBUL (INA) 76 68 74
219 - I Ketut SUGIARTA (INA) 74 72 73, Irmansyah (INA) 74 73 72, Junaidi IBRAHIM (INA) 73 71 75, I Nengah DHARMA (INA) 71 77 71
220 - Johannes DERMAWAN (INA) 68 77 75, Bramantyo ADI (A) (INA) 76 72 72
221 - Jamel ONDO (INA) 74 74 73
222 - Rinaldi Adiyandono (INA) 74 75 73
228 - Sim MINSUB (A) (INA) 73 76 79, Cahyo ADHITOMO (A) (INA) 75 74 79
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